Continental Investors Services Inc. Takes Position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Continental Investors Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB – Get Rating) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wagner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 1,002.4% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 324.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 226.0% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 80.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FITB shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $44.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Fifth Third Bancorp from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.90.

Fifth Third Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $26.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.11 and a 12 month high of $48.03. The stock has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.89 and a 200 day moving average of $34.35.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a net margin of 26.15% and a return on equity of 15.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. Fifth Third Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary R. Heminger acquired 33,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.82 per share, for a total transaction of $885,060.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 127,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,407,293.26. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, Director Gary R. Heminger bought 33,000 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.82 per share, with a total value of $885,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 127,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,407,293.26. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Howard Hammond sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.32, for a total transaction of $37,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,202 shares in the company, valued at $1,836,218.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Fifth Third Bancorp Profile

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Fifth Third Bancorp engages in the provision of banking & financial services, retail & commercial banking, consumer lending services, and investment advisory services through its subsidiary Fifth Third Bank. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth and Asset Management.